Mike has a theory:, and this is based on conjecture, he might add, because he’s no Bob Lefsetz. The theory is that in Mike’s niche it takes an album about five years to develop a certain mystical quality in the listener’s being. People started telling Mike Inside In was a favorite album about five years after it came out, and now that Sparrow is almost at that point, it’s starting to be garnered that way, whatever garner means. A couple at a bluegrass festival, for example, was getting out of their car and said to Mike that Sparrow was their favorite album.* Mike’s second solo album. Recorded at Mike’s home studio in Vermont and mixed at The Barn, The Green Sparrow features special guests Chuck Leavell (Rolling Stones), Trey Anastasio and Page McConnell, Bill Kreutzmann (Grateful Dead), Ivan Neville and horn players from Antibalas. Mike took 2007 off from touring and dedicated the entire year to writing this record. The end result is an eclectic album, assimilating of free-form rock & roll, pop and funk that showcases an animated side to Gordon’s songwriting.

*Mike added an app to his iPhone that allows songwriters to actually reverse this process. Using “inverse karma rotation,” the app makes fans put albums on pedestals roughly five years before the album is released.